Jorge Martin “sh*tting myself” after late scare in Japan MotoGP race

Jorge Martin says he was forced to call off his late MotoGP Japanese Grand Prix victory charge after a moment at Turn 3 left him “shitting myself”.

The Pramac rider came from 11th on the grid to second inside the first three laps of Sunday’s grand prix at Motegi and put pressure on eventual winner Francesco Bagnaia.

Martin got Bagnaia’s lead down to under a second in the closing stages of the race and appeared faster than the factory Ducati rider, before abandoning his march.

Speaking after the race, Martin says a big scare late on led to him easing off to secure 20 points and limit the damage Bagnaia inflicted on his lead.

“For sure, when I was closing the gap I thought I could make the move,” he said.

“I saw Pecco was pushing, because he did a few mistakes in corner 11.

“So, I said ok, he’s pushing like hell. So I said ‘Ok, let’s push’. And everything was under control.

“I was quite on the limit, but under control. But then I lost the front quite heavily in corner three.

“I saved it with the elbow. Then I lost like two seconds, I was really shitting myself and I said ‘Ok, it’s enough’.

“For sure, in championship ways, I think we have to think about this 20 points starting from 11th.

“Now it’s important to improve qualifying to do good qualifyings, because when I am in front I can lead and I can control the races.”

Martin added: “For me, it’s not like a victory. I’m a rider and I want to at least battle for the win always.

“Coming from the back it was difficult to overtake the riders. I had to use a bit more tyre than Pecco I think.

“So, I started to close the gap but when you are closer than half a second everything became quite difficult with the bike.

“It was difficult to stop the bike. And then 10 laps to go, I said ‘Ok, I try again, let’s go for it’. I saw Pecco was struggling a bit on braking, so I was pushing quite a lot.

“Three to go I had this big moment in corner three; this moment told me ‘Jorge, ok, it’s time to stop and finish with 20 points’.

“Pecco was really strong, he is a master of managing tyres, so he did an amazing job.

“But I feel confident coming from the fourth row to make second, good confidence for Australia that is a nice track for me.”

Martin holds onto a 10-point championship lead going into the next round in Australia and believes he is “stronger” now than he was at this stage of the season in 2023.

“For sure, last sprint to the end,” he concluded.

“Will be tough, Pecco is an amazing rider. But I feel grateful to be here, grateful I can battle like last year.

“But I feel stronger. So, let’s go for it. There are some races where I think I am a bit better, some others where Pecco is a bit better.

“So, the target is to bring it till Valencia and have the chance to win it.”